User Reviews for Focalin XR

I had a lot of success with Focalin. I felt like my brain got turned off, which was a good thing! I could sit through my classes and actually get stuff done. I stopped losing things and I got things done faster and with ease. I lost weight, which was pretty cool. I didn't have too many side effects that I can recall, except for the lack of appetite.

My daughter has been taking this for 7 months with almost no side affects. Her reading level increased from 3.1 to 4.5 in 6 months and her grades overall increased to A's. Our only problem is that we are having behavior problems with her at home as the medication is wearing off, and prior to taking it in the morning. We are currently adding another drug to see if it helps with this issue. Her behavior at school has not changed.

My daughter has been on this medication for a little over a year. She is doing wonderfully on it, besides her attitude and behavior when it wears off. I do however, give her an additional pill in the afternoon if we have something to do in the evening. The only side effect that she gets is not wanting to eat. She has been on several other medicines and this one is the best.

My son is 13 and he has tried several different prescriptions for ADHD. This one does seem to be the best so far. I have read about the max of dose being 20 ml and that is what he is on. Once the medicine wears off he can be very difficult to manage with his attitude and behavior. It is ends up being a very stressful situation when he gets this way.

My daughter has been taking this for about 2 months and it seems to be working besides she has been really disrespectful to everyone witch we have not seen with her before with her other meds.

My daughter started this medication about 3 months ago. Her grades and reading levels have soared and we don't have as much trouble getting her to concentrate on homework but when it comes time for bed, she's a handful and irritable still when confronted with certain tasks to be done like chores. I am not going to consider another medication on top of this but will instead consider a behavior intervention.

My son started taking this at 6, he was violent with family members, and would not pay attention in class, refusing to do homework, sometimes hitting other kids. He had never been on any other behavior modification medication before. We noticed a big difference when he started taking Focalin XR. His teacher started sending home good notes. He was doing well in school, but by the time he got home the medication had worn off, and we were dealing with the same problems. Now he has been on it for 2 months, it seems as though his body has just gotten used to the medicine and his former behavior had taken over. Now we are consulting his Doctor to see if the medication needs to be increased, or where to go from here.

Patient has had diarrhea at times since beginning this medicine nearly a year ago.

My son has been on Focalin XR for 3 years now. We have had nothing but success. He will not go to school without it. He went from a failing student that stayed in trouble to a GT student that LOVES school and a very successful competative swimmer. Yes we do have behavor problems in the evening but its nothing that we can't handle..

I am a adult, recently diagnosed with ADD. Probably had it my whole life, but now I am doing something about it. My doctor prescribed this medication, and at first, I was so focused and improving my error ratio's at work. The only thing even after increasing my dose, it wears off. By 1:00pm, I am tired and can go to sleep. I think I am going to ask my doctor to give me the non extended so I can take it in the am, and pm. Other than that, it is a great medicine, and I don't have the non-appetite side effect, in fact, it makes me want to eat more.

Our 11 year old son is diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type and has been on this medicine for 14 months now. It made a big difference for him. He is on 15mg Focalin RX. If he doesn't take it for a day, the teacher can really tell the difference. He can focus now and became a part of the class, contributes to the conversation and also has an easier time with his social life. He doesn't hate school anymore. We don't see any behavioral issues at home when it wears off. He has appetite loss, so he eats a big breakfast before he takes the medication. He also got used to eat a sandwiches at school even if he is not hungry. It became a part of his routine.

My child has been taking this for a few months now. We tried Concerta and after only the second dose he was having severe tics. Focalin has less side effects but his behavior is WORSE when he misses a dose than it ever was before he started taking this medicine.

This has been a God send. I have Executive Functioning issues with possible undiagnosed ADD and I have tried many, many different prescriptions (Adderall, Concerta, Meditate, Vyvanse) and none have worked nearly as well as Focalin. The ones listed above put a lot of load/pressure on my brain. It's hard to explain but it was not pleasant. On Focalin I am much more attentive and there's no body load. Others also cut my appetite significantly and kept me awake at night. While Focalin still cuts my appetite some, I am able to go to sleep when I need too. 10/10 but remember just because it worked for me doesn't mean it's going to for you. I suggest trying them all and seeing which one has the best synergy with your body.

My daughter has been on this drug for a month and she has been focusing a lot better on homework and her behavior has improved. I am currently trying to figure out what to do because it helps her a lot but also causes diarrhea sometimes.

My 6 yr old son started showing signs of ADHD a year ago. He is in kindergarten and he has 3 types of days green- good, yellow-not the best, red-bad day. Every week he was coming home with 2 yellow days a week for calling out and being disruptive for the last 7 months. He started taking Focalin XR 10mg and has a green day everyday since he started the medication. His teachers say how much better he has been at school and he doesn't run a muck through the house anymore. I'm so happy we found Focalin.

My daughter started taking Focalin XR 15mg in the morning and 10mg in the afternoon. This medicine does not seem to be helping at all and her behavior is worse than ever to the point that we cannot handle her and she almost had to be hospitalized for the second time within a 2 week span.

We started our 10 year old daughter on this medication last year and had terrific results. She doesn't have any behavioral issues at school and never had but did by the time she got home, was so worn out from trying to focus and be good that she was having emotional break downs. We started last year on 5 and after 8 months 10. She is saying she doesn't notice a difference between taking in and not recently so increase to 15. She has been emotional again somedays, but not sure whether that is because she is an 11 year old girl, medication related, or not enough medicine. She has had a problem falling asleep since she was born and last year seemed better after being on medicines, but has come back this year. We give her melatonin occasionally.

I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 7. I started with Concerta to treat it but as time went on the side effects and the dosage being 135mg was getting annoying. I have noticed that Focalin XR has fewer side effects than Concerta. Also, I eat a good deal more and I can sleep when taking it. I also read in the comments that the maximum dosage is 20mg? I take 35mg and will probably up my dose. Other than that it is a very good medication.

Overall this medication has been absolutely wonderful. Our 12 year old son was diagnosed at age 7 with ADHD. We did try another medicine, but it stopped working after about 2 years. We have been on the Focalin XR since. Our son takes 25 mg, 2 times daily about 6 hours apart. It has helped a ton. He does have the appetite issue, but we are sustaining it, and when it wears off at nite, he eats great. The mornings are the worst part before the medicine kicks in. Our son has improved so much in school and in his extra curricular activities. He is a total joy when the medication is working. We do try and give him "drug vacations" on the weekends and during the summer which helps maintain his weight.